Help Oregon Qualify An Important Medical Marijuana Initiative

In another affirmation of cannabis law reform’s political momentum in America, the organizers at VoterPower of Oregon have very likely qualified for the ballot what will be ‘Initiative-28’ this November.

Enough signatures have been gathered, but, in an effort to make sure that enough signatures legally qualify the measure for the ballot it is necessary and politically prudent to turn in the maximum number of signatures to survive scrutiny from the Secretary of State’s office or opponents of cannabis law reform.

Oregon, by all measurement, is one of the best states in the country on cannabis!

The state was the first to decriminalize possession in 1973, the state has had numerous voter initiatives to reform cannabis laws—including the 1998 initiative votes to keep cannabis possession decriminalized (blessedly, an eye-popping 68% of Oregon voters rejected an effort to re-criminalize the possession of cannabis) and Oregon became the 4th state to pass a voter initiative that allows for the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients who possess a physician’s recommendation.

Now, in 2010, Initiative-28 seeks to create a state-sanctioned medical cannabis dispensary system where patients can have retail access to cannabis products.

Below is a recent alert from VoterPower director (and former NORML board member) John Sajo letting all concerned cannabis consumers—from Oregon and beyond—know about the politically important opportunity to help get another pro-cannabis law voter state initiative on this fall’s ballot.

If we can all help Oregon get over the top to qualify for the ballot, the state will join Arizona and South Dakota on medical cannabis-related initiatives, as well as California regarding an outright legalization initiative.**

Please contact VoterPower and lend them your help and financial support to make sure that the citizens of Oregon once again have the chance to lead the way on substantive cannabis law reform measures.

**BTW, Washington State may also qualify a legalization ballot initiative for this year as well. They too are up against tight deadlines and financial restrictions, but might become the fifth state this election cycle to have a major pro-cannabis law reform measure placed directly in front of the voters. To help the effort in Washington State click here.

Friends

We need your help to push Initiative 28 over the top. This initiative will create a dispensary system where qualified patients can obtain high quality medical marijuana. Patients will have more choices and much better access.

We have already collected over 110,000 signatures, but this isn’t quite enough. We are waiting to hear from the Secretary of State, who checks to see how many of the signatures are valid registered voters. We may need another 10,000 signatures.

We have street crews out petitioning who we expect to collect about half of what we need.

We need volunteers like you to help by getting a petition and filling up a sheet or two: One sheet is just ten signatures!

You can collect signatures from your Oregon friends and family or just by asking a few people out in public.

I-28 is going to be an important improvement to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act and it will help make better marijuana laws more likely in the future. Qualifying for and winning this election are within our grasp. Please help at this critical time.

If you need a petition we will mail you one, just email me atjohns@voterpower.org or stop by our offices in Portland, Medford, or Eugene.

[…] Reformers in Washington State are seeking to join California with a legalization ballot this fall; medical cannabis-related ballot initiatives are happening in states such as Arizona, South Dakota and very possibly Oregon. […]

I don’t smoke (anymore). And yes, I would be willing to give blood and hair and urine samples. It’s been several decades. Having said that, with no vested interest in the subject, if morphine is a legal pain relieving drug, why is marijuana illegal? Wouldn’t the hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on fighting marijuana be better spent on the fight against alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and the abuse of other life threatening substances used for recreational purposes? Our courts and jails are clogged with individuals charged with marijuana possession. They are not committing the kind of violent acts that occur every couple of seconds by people fueled by our favorite legal drug (alcohol). It just doesn’t make sense. Reefer madness still fuels legislative decisions. We need a new guard that is in touch with reality. One that can channel our efforts (and tax money) where they can do the most good.

[…] Reformers in Washington State are seeking to join California with a legalization ballot this fall; medical cannabis-related ballot initiatives are happening in states such as Arizona, South Dakota and very possibly Oregon. […]